At Odds
by britata348
Summary: Every year, the annual 'Peace Among the Nations' meeting is held. Katara and Zuko haven't seen each other in three years. What will amount from their fateful re-encounter? A mission, painful pasts, and engagements turn this 'peace' meeting into chaos!
1. Chapter 1

**Title: At Odds**

**Author: Britata348**

**Pairing: Zutara**

**Summary: Every year, the annual 'Peace Among the Nations' meeting is held. Katara and Zuko haven't seen each other in three years. What will amount from their fateful re-encounter? A mission, painful pasts, and engagements turn this 'peace' meeting into utter chaos!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA, no matter how much I want to. You would know if I did, because it would have ended A LOT differently XD Still, kudos to Mike&Bryan!**

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The last sliver of the sun disappeared behind the horizon. Sky above faded from bright blue, to pink, to orange, and then finally to black. One by one, little twinkling lights began to appear in the new darkness.

The growing waves of the ocean lapped gently against her ankles. She sighed, letting her own breath warm her dark skin in the cool night air, and started to walk back to the house where everyone she loved was waiting for her, well, _almost_ everyone.

* * *

Chapter One

"Katara! C'mon, get up!" Suki shouted in frustration. "You're going to be late!"

The 18-year-old waterbender rolled over onto her stomach, grabbed her pillow and pressed it over her head trying in earnest to block out the "noise" that was her sister-in-law.

"Go away . . ." She mumbled into the mattress.

"Not this time, sleepy-head, you're getting up wether you like it or not." Suki said relentlessly, as she began pulling at Katara's covers, tying to coerce her out of the expensive bed.

Having arrived at the Earth King's palace around midnight, she was thoroughly exhausted. No matter how fluffy Appa was, it was not comfortable riding on his back, let alone being able to sleep on it.

Although she wouldn't admit it, the flight was extremely. . . awkward. It had been just her and Aang, and even though they had been together since the end of the war, whenever she was alone around him, something seemed- off, not exactly the way it was supposed to be.

This fact troubled the waterbender extremely, as she did not know the reason for the feeling. So, instead of trying to confront it, she just ignored it and pretended it didn't even exist.

To avoid the unwelcome feeling, she had tried to persuade some of the others to join her on the trip, but her efforts failed.

The newly wed Sokka and Suki had traveled with the Kyoshi warriors a week earlier, Toph refused to step foot in what she refered to as "the accursed city" of Ba-sing-se (it was also getting harder and harder to pull the girl away from the gambling house and Jun, her new "pal"), and anyone else she could think of already had made different plans to get there. At least, anyone she let herself think of.

Katara grabbed her blankets and wrapped them tightly around her body, trying to keep the heat from escaping. This just made Suki pull even harder. Katara knew she would lose eventually, but she wanted to draw it out as long as possible, being her stubborn self.

She felt her left foot on the edge of the bed, so she dug her fingernails into the mattress and tried to scramble further away from the Kyoshi warrior.

A look of comprehension flooded across Suki, and she let go of the sheets abruptly and swiftly ran to the corner of the bedroom. There sat a a painted jug filled with flowers and_–_ _water_.

A sly smile flashed accross her face before she lifted the jug and threw all of the contents towards the waterbending master.

Katara could feel each water molecule flying through the air aimed at her, and her now wide eyes could see it coming as if it was in slow motion. Instantly the she sat up, and stopped the water in midair right before the water would have collided with her head_–_ all with just small movement of her hand. Katara slowly motioned the water back into the jug with ease.

"Fine_–_ I'm up." Katara smirked.

Suki stared back at her skeptically. "Are you sure about that?" She replied.

"Yes, _really_, I'm awake."

In fact, she wasn't lying. The sudden waterbending sent a rush of adrenaline through her veins, making Katara hyperaware and aching for action. _'__Just like the good old days__. . .'_ She thought. Katara knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, even if she tried.

The blue-eyed beauty jumped out of the bed, and immediately felt woozy from the sudden vertigo.

"Okay, well, I'll be waiting outside. You have ten minutes before you're _really_ late." Suki ordered with authority as she slammed the wooden door behind her

Not wasting any time, Katara moved as if the floor was covered in a thick sheet of very slippery ice; she was moving with incredible speed but kept knocking and tipping over objects around her.

Finally, she came to a halt in front of the full length mirror hanging on the pale green wall to the left of her bed. The edges of the mirror were solid gold, and molded into an intricate design of many small flowers, each one slightly different from the other. Only the finest for the enormous palace, of course.

The reflection showed that Katara's hair was very long (the longest it had ever been) and hung down past her waist in stretching brown curls. She had thrown on a blue dress that was a gift from Aang. The dress had many layers of a thin fabric, each one longer and a deeper blue than the last. It hung snugly on her (now developed) chest, and reached the floor_–_ far too long for Katara's liking. She couldn't tell Aang though, that would just be ungrateful.

She quickly slid some beaded combs into her thick hair, and put on matching silk slippers. After taking one last look into the mirror, she left.

Quietly shutting the door behind her, Katara started walking towards the great hall with Suki, who had waited and still looked a bit annoyed from before.

"You're sitting in between Aang and Iroh," Suki whispered as they entered the enormous room filled with mostly strangers, "Zuko couldn't make it_–_again_–_so Iroh is taking his place." she added before Katara could ask.

Without thinking, the waterbender sighed in disappointment.

Suki gracefully turned right and went to sit next to Sokka and some old Earth Kingdom governor, while Katara turned left and took her place.

When she sat down, Aang looked over and gave her a wide childish grin that went from ear to ear, obviously happy that she had arrived (even if late). Katara smiled lightly back at the monk, reached her hand towards his open and waiting palm and took hold of it.

"I'm glad you were able to get up." Aang whispered into her ear, tickling her as his lips brushed against her cheek, making her face warm with heat as she blushed. Aang always did embarrassing things, in public, naturally.

Turning her head away from him, she caught sight of the watching Iroh.

"You look very beautiful this morning," Iroh boomed, not bothering to lower his voice, which just increased the heat in her now burning face. "You've grown so much since the last time I saw you. . ." He added as he rambled off into some proverb about a blossoming flower.

"Which was what, a month ago? Really Iroh, I haven't grown at all." She moved her eyes downward. "But, thanks anyway."

The old Fire Nation general didn't respond, but instead just looked straight ahead smiling to himself, as if someone just said a funny joke.

The entire room was filled with dull murmurings in anticipation for the meeting to begin, when a middle-aged man with a thick, bushy mustache sauntered into the center of the room. He cleared his throat loudly, signaling for the people to stop chattering.

"Welcome everyone," the man started, practically yelling, "to the fifth annual summer _'Peace Among the Nations'_ meeting. We will begin by reciting the treaty among the three–" he stopped himself as he glanced at Aang, and began to correct himself, "–forgive me, four, nations." He motioned for everyone to stand up.

"I swear to keep peace among the nations. To never start another war ever again. To solve any disagreement with words, not by taking violent action. If it is not solved by that, to ask the Avatar for his gracious help. . ." The crowd continued to recite the two page treaty in a discordant mess of voices, and didn't finish for an achingly long time (at least Katara thought so).

"Now we shall begin with our first affair, the Fire Nation rebels. Iroh of the Fire Nation, if you would, please inform us on their status." Mustache mustache man (the nickname Katara had now given him) said.

Iroh stood up directing the crowds attention onto him. "So far, we have apprehended about 53 rebels in their last raid, but there is still an estimate of 200 men and women who are still in hiding." He stated, causing a wave of voices amongst the crowd.

"Quiet, quiet!" Mustache mustache man shouted. A hush fell across the room. "We'll come back to this issue later. We now need to address the free trade proposal by Governor Hwong . . ."

Katara thought she had heard enough, she stopped paying attention to the meeting. Instead, she started to think about a more troubling matter, for her at least: She had found a betrothal necklace in Aangs bag by accident during the flight to the palace. That meant he was planning to propose, Katara guessed very soon too.

It had been obvious he wanted to for awhile, but seeing the handcarved necklace with her own eyes startled her more than it should have. Katara _knew_ she loved Aang, she would do anything for him. They had been through so much together, and he saved the world and turned it into one filled with peace, how could she not give him heart? She couldn't fathom why she kept doubting her feelings.

Katara took it upon herself to imagine the future she would have with Aang. They would get married, start a family, and grow old together. Perfectly perfect, nothing wrong, except there was _something_. When she imagined this future, she felt the same feeling as when she is alone with him, that something wasn't right about it.

_'I'm probably just not ready for the commitment. I love Aang, so it shouldn't matter. When he asks, I'll say yes. I mean how could I ever say, "No" to him?'_ She she thought to herself.

Even so, every time she thought about accepting, her stomach did belly flops and she felt almost, she hated to admit, repulsed. It was probably the same feeling she would've had if her brother asked to marry her. Aang was her _boyfriend__–_ how on earth would she feel the same way?

Katara began to traces light spirals with her pointer finger on Aang's hand, trying to cool her nerves. It didn't help. She was starting to feel overheated and claustrophobic in the room full of at least 300 people.

She waited for five more minutes until she couldn't take it anymore. She abruptly stood up and stumbled her way out of the room. Looking back for a moment, she saw a confused look painted on Aang's face. He appeared to want to get up and follow her. Katara mouthed "No, I'm fine." and continued walking.

Ten seconds passed before three of the palace servants caught up with her.

"Miss Katara, of the Watertribe!" The first one said, out of breath. "Are you upset? Is there anything we can get you? Anything at all Miss?"

The other two looked at her with concerned eyes.

"No, thank you. I just need to, well to– I just have to get out of this godforsaken place!" she anounced, realizing what she needed.

"Can we assist you–"

"No!" She she almost yelled, leaving three very confused and astonished servants in her wake as she ran towards door which led to the palace gardens.

* * *

Zuko stared into oblivion, thinking about nothing in particular. Okay, that was a lie. He was in fact thinking about many things. Such as how he was in Ba-sing-se, but had persuaded his Uncle Iroh to go to the meeting instead at the last minute_–_ again.

"I'm such a coward." Zuko spoke quietly to himself.

"You are? Like I didn't know that." Mai said, startling him. Zuko had thought he was alone, but in reality, Mai had walked into the room five minutes previous. He had been so caught up in his thoughts he didn't even notice her open the door. "Why are you here Zuko? Why aren't you at the meeting? What are you scared of?"

The young Fire Lord sighed in self loathing.

"I don't know, Mai. I really don't. I swear I was going to go, but when we were getting ready to leave, I just felt like. . . I don't know. I guess_–_ nervous." He admitted with shame, hanging his head lower.

What he couldn't say to Mai was that he really was just feeling the shame of not seeing, talking, or even writing to _her_ in three long years. He felt as if it was too late now.

"You know Zuko, sometimes you can be a real idiot." She said in a monotone voice as she sat next to him.

She gently turned his head to face hers, and then pressed her lips against his, trying to cheer him up.

Before she could do anything more, Zuko pushed the dark haired woman away, leaving her shocked. He saw the hurt and rejection in her eyes, although she was trying to hide it.

"I'm sorry Mai, but I don't think it's the best time for that." She just stiffened in response, not meeting his eyes any longer. "On the other hand, we'll have plenty of time for it after the wedding." He added knowingly, touching the engagement band softly on her finger that he had given her last month.

"Fine_–_ forgiven." She she said, reverting back to her normal self with no emotion. "But, please, go to the meeting now, for me? I doubt it's over, it's going to take more than one day to finish, let alone a single morning. They probably haven't even started."

"Mai, it probably wouldn't even make a difference if I went or not–"

"Don't. Even. Start. Zuko. You are the _Fire Lord_. After all the things the Fire Nation has done to the world, you won't even go to a peace meeting? You're going, and that's final."

Zuko knew he couldn't win now; there was no stopping Mai when she got worked up, however rarely she did.

The amber-eyed man hastily got up, grabbed his Fire Nation cloak, and put in his hair piece. He walked to the door and glared sternly at Mai.

"Don't be mad at me Zuko, you'll thank me later, I promise." She said with hopeful kindness resonating in her voice. He just turned around, still fuming, and slammed the door behind him.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, for anyone who read this story before July 15, 2010 you will notice it's been completly revised with new bits added into it. Anyone who is new to it should be thankful they didn't have to read the previous version (ew) **

**I am going to try and finish this story, because it really deserves to be. Try and motivate me by giving a review, favorite, or story alert! Also let me know your thoughts and idea's of what you think, or want, to happen next!**

**Thank you, and have a meaningful existence!**

**- Britata348 **

**Every year, the annual 'Peace Among the Nations' meeting is held. Katara and Zuko haven't seen each other in three years. What will amount from their fateful re-encounter? A mission, painful pasts, and engagements turn this 'peace' meeting into utter chaos!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The Palace garden was beautiful, magnificent, really. Placed in the center of the huge palace, the entire courtyard was larger than four ball rooms put together. It had a dazzling array of flowers, tree's and plants from every nation. It even had the fire lilies Katara had seen when she was in the Fire Nation so long ago.

The master water bender had been leisurely walking around the garden for about half an hour now, finding new paths on and off of the stepping stones.

After a little more exploring, Katara found a spot that looked inviting underneath a cherry blossom tree, although it wasn't in bloom yet. She sat down after smoothing the grass beneath her. Katara rested the back of her head against the trunk of the tree and closed her eyes for a mere moment when she heard a twig snap.

Her eyes shot open, and she quickly started to dart her eyes back and forth looking for a threat. She saw nothing. _It must have been my imagination. Nothing to worry about. _ Katara thought to herself.

For so long Katara had been accustomed to always having to be alert and ready for attack; she had never been able to stop being extra cautious. It didn't hurt either, now that there were so many rebels who would love to see Katara die at their hand.

Katara started to settle back into position when she heard leaves rustle, and then footsteps. She was on her feet almost immediately. Katara could now see a silhouette in the shadows of the surrounding trees. Katara tensed and started noting where all the water sources were around her. There was a pond a ways back; too far. She could bend the water out of the plants, but she would hate to see them die, but if it came to it, she would.

The figure stepped out of the shadows and into the bright sunlight. It was a man.

It was Zuko.

"K-Ka-tara?" Zuko stuttered out in an alarmed voice. A confused and embarrassed expression appeared on his face. "What are _you_ doing_ here?_"

Those were the first words Zuko had spoken to Katara in three achingly long years.

"That's none of your business is it, _Zuko. I _should be asking _you _what your doing here." She spat back, angry with Zuko–and herself.

"I was just on my way to the meeting . . ." He responded, lowering his eyes.

"Oh really _Zuko_, because I am fairly certain the meeting room is that way," Katara pointed behind him and was almost yelling now, "and that still doesn't explain why you're here, in Ba-sing-se. Everyone was told you couldn't make it. Why are you here?"

Katara didn't know why she was so angry now. It was almost as if all of her emotions that she thought were buried deep inside her were seeping out now, after all of this time.

Katara looked into Zuko's eyes, almost hidden by a shadow.

_Why did you leave me? _Her eyes asked.

"I-I'm sorry, Katara." Zuko answered.

He now met his amber eyes to Katara's piercing blue ones. He flinched at the site of them, as if he was scared. He didn't know if he was apologizing for what he did in the past, what he'll do in the future, or the fact that he didn't have the courage to face her any longer.

Zuko left, leaving Katara–alone– again.

* * *

Iroh was starting to doze off as he listened to the monotone voice of the current speaker.

_I'm getting tired of listening to this man drone on about land distributions. Doesn't anyone know how to have fun around here? _The old man adjusted himself and started to yawn, when he saw a figure pacing back and forth in the left hall. _So he decided to show up after all. _Iroh smirked in amusement.

"Governor Leong, I do not intend to dishonor you by interrupting, but if you please, Fire Lord Zuko has arrived." Iroh said as he stood up, and walked towards his now grimacing nephew and winked. Walking out of the room, Iroh left Zuko alone with everyone's eyes glued to him, ensuring he couldn't turn back.

Zuko took his Uncle's seat beside the other empty seat next to Aang. The young Fire Lord met eyes with the Avatar and smiled, or at least tried to. Aang, being himself, laughed and greeted him with a wave like a best friend– not like the ruler of a still powerful nation.

Zuko, despite being embarrassed, was happy to see that Aang seemed not to have changed much on the inside; Although, it was apparent he had on the outside.

Aang was still a bald monk, but now he had some real muscle on him, and his face had lost it's babyish shape and was now much more angular and handsome. Aang was definitely not the little kid Zuko had chased so long ago.

"Long time no see, huh, Zuko?" Aang whispered, "How's Mai doing?" he added.

"Fine." Zuko replied, maybe a little too quickly.

"Did you happen to see Katara on your way here?" Aang asked in an even lower voice to make sure no one else heard him.

Zuko cleared his throat nervously. "Uh . . . yeah. I ran into her. Why do you ask?"

"Well, she ran off a little earlier, and I just want to know if she's all right or not. I'm glad she was able to see you, 'cause you guys haven't really spoken to each other that much since the war ended right? I bet she missed you–– oh, look! There she is!"

Aang was right, Katara _was_ there.

Zuko gulped, glancing at the only open seat beside him. He squirmed just thinking of how uncomfortable this meeting was going to be.

* * *

After sitting in the immense garden long enough to pull herself back together, Katara decided it was time to go back to the meeting.

Surely being distracted by Aang would be better then having to think about the pain that had been unearthed inside her today. Surely she couldn't feel worse than she was feeling now– at least, that's what she hoped.

Katara ran through the vast labyrinth of the palace, not stopping to admire the brilliant wood carvings or the beautiful murals on the ceiling, and arrived at the crowded meeting room. Everyone stared at her. Obviously she was interrupting, since everyone stopped talking and there eyes were focused onto her.

Smoothing out her tousled gown, Katara closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths and slowly walked halfway to her seat when she realized Iroh had either dyed, cut his hair, and became Fire Lord, or that the person sitting where Iroh should've been was _Zuko._

_Crap! _Katara thought to herself once she realized who she would have to be sitting by for the rest of the meeting. _Crap, crap, crap!_

Katara could feel the emotions she was trying to hide away again bubbling up inside of her, just waiting to burst out. She couldn't let that happen. Not in front of all these people. Not in front of Aang. No one but Zuko and her knew about what happened between them, and Katara didn't want to change that.

So, Katara, not letting her emotions get the best of her, just grimaced and sat down in her seat, being sure to angle herself _away _from Zuko and _towards_ Aang.

Then Katara noticed the awkward silence that had taken over the room.

"What are you guys waiting for? Continue already, _okay_?" she said in an annoyed tone, breaking the silence, "Don't let me hold up your meeting."

In response, just about everyone started to clear their throats loudly.

A man, about 40 years of age with a clean shave and short hair stood up and cleared his throat, again and louder, to get everyone's attention.

"Now as I was saying," he began, "the Fire Lord has arrived, and I think this would be the most _opportune _time to bring up the search for Ursa of the Fire Nation, more specifically, Fire Lord Zuko's missing mother."

Katara noticed Zuko stiffen at the mention of his mother. Aang gave Zuko a quick worried glance in concern for his friend.

The man standing up continued, "I think instead of using our previous methods of interrogations, we should have an elite _select_ few to look for her. These people would need to have immense skill, knowledge, and not be afraid of risks considering that she could be in the captivity of Fire Nation rebels– Do we have any nominations?"

A young Earth Kingdom politician stood up signaling that he wanted to speak. "I believe Fire Lord Zuko should be the leader of this mission, considering he was close to Lady Ursa, not to mention his _remarkable_ skills and intelligence."

Several people started to argue, but were interrupted by the deep, booming voice of an overweight Fire Nation noble woman. "_I_ do not want our Fire Lord going on such a dangerous mission, since he has no heirs, _unless_ there are only people he chooses and trusts. That is the only way I could even think of such a thing happening." She said bringing on a new wave of voices agreeing or disagreeing.

At this point, Mustache Man decided to rejoin the conversation, "Perhaps, we should ask the Fire Lord himself if he would even _consider _going on this mission, and if he does, then we could consult him on the option of who he would bring with him, eh?"

Eyes turned to look expectantly at Zuko.

"Uh, well. . ." Katara could hear the nervousness coating his voice. It seemed like Zuko was as awkward as ever when addressing crowds. "I think, under the circumstances, there is no reason why I shouldn't go on this mission, except for the fact that I wouldn't be able to handle my, um, Fire Lord duties. I guess, what I'm trying to say is: who would take over for me while I was gone?"

Katara rolled her eyes. "Don't mean to disappoint you Zuko, but I'm _pretty_ sure General Iroh, your _uncle_, could take over for you, considering you had him take your place for the last _three _years at this meeting." Katara spoke in an irritated tone making sure Zuko would feel the sting behind her words.

"Uh, right." Katara saw Zuko's face turn a shade pinker.

"Well, then, Fire Lord Zuko, there should be no problem with you going on this mission, right?" Mustache Man said, knowing the answer already. "Now, shall we discuss who you wish would come along on this, er, mission?"

Zuko slowly stood up, wiped his sweating brow, and began to reply, "Well–" Zuko looked around the room at the anticipating faces, "–if I have to choose, I know one person who I want to take along is. . . Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe."

Everyone turned their heads and heard a loud "Hell yes!" from where Sokka was sitting.

"I suppose, I'll take The leader of the Kyoshi Warriors: Suki, the earthbending master Toph Beifong, and if he agrees, I would like to take along– Avatar Aang." All eyes turned to the young Avatar sitting one seat away.

"Yeah, sure! I have no problem with going!" Aang grinned, but quickly took it back when it seemed like hell had broken loose.

"What about the Avatar helping our crops grow?" One representative from Ba-sing-se's outer ring belted out.

"And hadn't the Avatar promised to work out the issues between Lung-sang City and the village of Chin-loo?" Another person joined in.

"And what about the promise that––"

"The avatar also promised my town to––"

"The Avatar needs to stay with the people, not go on some silly search!"

"We _need_ him!" a chorus of people shouted.

"HEY!" Aang shouted bringing a silence to the very loud room, "I _wont_ go if so many people object to it, but The Fire Lord still needs at least one more person to accompany him. . ." Aang turned his head towards Zuko, "Couldn't you take along Katara, uh, I mean Miss Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, the waterbending master?"

Katara made a small gasp and began to glare at Aang. Apparently he didn't notice.

"_Aang–_" Katara started, but didn't get to finish.

"It's settled then," Mustache Man said, "The search will start immediately at the end of the meeting. Anyone who was selected to be on the team is can be excused, and get ready for their departure."

Not wasting anytime, both Zuko and Katara shot up from their seats and left the meeting.

* * *

**A/N: **Behold! The long overdue Chapter Two of At Odds! I'm sorry it has taken this long. I had it mostly written a very long time ago, and I just got around to finishing it today.

Next chapter, whenever that comes, will include Toph, more Zuko and Katara tension, and Suki and Sokka sickening fluff.

Review, favorite, alert, you know the drill! Maybe I'll write faster!


	3. Chapter 3 Part I

**Chapter Three Part I**

For a while, the only sound in the elegant hallway was the footsteps of Katara and Zuko. Both of their eyes avoided one another, but they were certainly not ignoring each other.

Quite the opposite, actually. They were so aware of each other they could hardly stand it. The minute that had passed by felt as if it were an hour.

Zuko was the one to break the unbearable silence.

"Katara–" he let out with a defeated sigh, "you don't have to do this for me."

She shot a sideways glare towards him.

"Don't be so narcissistic. I'm not doing this for _you._ I'm doing this for Aang," Katara paused and her cold eyes softened, "and your mother."

As much she hated to think about it, Katara still remembered when Zuko had helped her face her own mother's killer. That was when she finally accepted Zuko, and for a short time, they were the closest of friends. . . inseparable. Their bond was strong enough that they would take their own life for the other– or a lightening bolt.

It's not that Katara hated Zuko now, she knew that she didn't. But after what happened, she didn't know how else to face him. After such a long time of him avoiding her, how could she act like nothing had happened? How could things go back to the way they were before? Katara couldn't find the answers, and she didn't know if she wanted to.

It hurt Katara, to treat him like this, because she knew that she really cared for the Fire Lord. They had overcome so much together. If only, if only Katara could forgive him for what he did. Then, maybe she would be able to do what she wanted to do: give her friend that she has missed so much a tight embrace.

Katara had promised herself, though, that she would never let Zuko get a chance to betray her yet again. So, this meant that she had to keep the coldness between them, for if it were to be broken, she would only be hurt another time. Probably more so than before. It was selfish, she knew it was, but Zuko was like a wound. It would begin to heal, and just when she thought it was gone, it would open up again, much deeper than before.

"I see," Zuko whispered, barely audible.

Katara felt the need to reach out to him, but she knew she couldn't. She felt her fist clench tightly to restrain her urge. She needed to escape from him. His very presence was overwhelming her with these unwanted emotions. Katara couldn't take it anymore. She tried quickening her pace, but realized she must have sped up too much because of the loud "RRRRRIP" she heard.

She stopped, and so did Zuko. He wore a confused expression, and then realized what had occurred. Zuko swiftly averted his eyes, and his face filled with heat.

Her dress had ripped, all the way up to her thigh on one side. Katara swore.

Frustrated and embarrassed, Katara gathered the hem her dress in her hands and took off running to her room. Zuko thought about following her, but decided against it. It would only make things worse.

Sighing, Zuko continued to walk to his room. Maybe Mai could cheer him up.

* * *

When Katara arrived at her room, she slammed the door behind her hastily. Short gasps were now escaping her mouth, and she couldn't stop them. Her body crumpled against the door; she couldn't control herself any longer.

Sitting on the cool floor, Katara cried. The tears were hot and angry, and despite her constant effort of wiping them away, they continued to fall.

Once she seemed to have run out of tears, she stood up. Katara took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

Zuko was _nothing_. Zuko should not be causing this to her. She could not let herself be affected by him any longer. This was the lie Katara had to repeat to herself over and over again.

Katara caught sight of her dress, and remembered the rip. Not wasting any time, she stripped the ruined dress off of her body. Inspecting the long tear closely, she realized it was beyond repair. It's not as if she liked it anyway.

The waterbender wadded the blue fabric into a ball and threw it into the garbage bin sitting next to the dresser, not giving it another thought.

That's when she heard someone knock on the door. Katara froze.

_Who could it be? _She thought, _Zuko wouldn't have followed me, would he?_

Katara decided to see for herself, so she opened the heavy door. Standing before her was _not_ Zuko, but _Aang_. Relief swept over her, until she realized she was standing in only her _underwear_.

Aang looked surprised– _very_ surprised. Red covered his face, but he didn't turn away from the exposed waterbender.

This was the most he had ever seen of Katara. Of course, he had seen her when she wore her wrappings when training Aang, but never as revealed as she was now, and he couldn't look away.

He eyed her from head to toe. "Uh, do you wanna, er, should I wait for you to get changed?" Aang asked, making the situation even more awkward than it already was.

Not bothering to respond, Katara slammed the door in her boyfriend's face.

_How could he look at me like that? _Katara thought, _He should have at least turned away. . . or something. . . just not that._

Katara haphazardly rummaged in her wardrobe, pulling out an old shirt and her worn out pants. She didn't want to bother dressing up for Aang. She took a quick look at herself in the mirror, and noticed her eyes were pink and puffy from her crying earlier. Of course, Aang hadn't even noticed due to her lack of clothing before.

In an effort to remove the evidence of her previous breakdown, Katara bent a small amount of water from the air surrounding her. She placed it over her eyes, and could feel the soothing effect of the healing. When her eyes opened, they looked as blue as ever, and Aang would never be able to guess she had been crying earlier.

Katara let the water dissipate back into the air, and then opened the door once again. She gave Aang a forced smile, and invited him in.

He stepped into the room, and gave it a once-over. "You've got a nice room." He stated.

"Yeah, thanks." Katara said, "What exactly did you come here for Aang?"

"Hey! Now when has it been wrong for a guy to want to see his girlfriend alone every once in awhile?" Aang grinned at the waterbender, hoping he would get a laugh.

"Since you're the _Avatar_ and you're supposed to be at the meeting right now. How did you even escape that room without getting attacked?" Katara questioned.

"With my charms, of course," Aang smirked and waggled one of his eyebrows. "You should've known that– baby." he winked at her, and tried his best to have a "seductive" look on his face.

Silently, Katara met her eyes to Aang's, before they both burst out into a fit of laughter. Aang was her friend after all, as well as her boyfriend. She couldn't help but be happy when they could just talk like they used to. He was the boy who changed and saved the world, hers especially. Behind his now important and powerful status, he was still the same fun-loving boy she met four years ago.

"Katara?" Aang asked, now over his laughter.

"Yeah, Aang?"

"Will you marry me?" At that moment, the world seemed to stop with a jerk. Katara could feel her chest tighten as she struggled for air. She sat down on her bed silently, but did not do anything else. Seconds passed by.

She knew what she had to say. It was just one word. She knew that he was planning this, so why was she acting so surprised? All she needed to do was to accept his proposal, and be done with it.

Katara finally met Aang's expectant eyes. She tried speaking, but no words came out of her lips.

"Katara?" Aang asked, "Katara, are you all right?" Katara blinked, and felt her voice return to her.

"Aang. . ." She whispered, ". . . I–I don't know. I just–"

Aang's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "What? How can you not know?" He paused, and then seemed to let his emotions overtake him. "We've been together for four years now! I love you, you love me! How can there even be any question in this? How can you not say yes? I've made a necklace and everything!"

"Don't you think you're rushing into things, Aang? I'm only 18. I–I'm not ready to settle down."

"Why would us getting married make that much of a difference? It wouldn't change anything except for letting the world know we belong to each other! You're just making excuses, Katara."

"No, I'm not. . . I'm not ready. I know this. It's not you Aang. . . you know that I love you." Katara didn't meet Aangs eyes when she said this, but she didn't have to. He had thrust himself onto her while he messily kissed her unresponsive lips, with a fierce passion.

He wanted her to be his, he had never wanted anyone else. He blindly viewed the world with Katara at it's center, the person he could not let go of. She brought out the worst in him, but he refused to even second-guess his devotion to the waterbender who had rescued him from the iceberg. There were no other options for the last airbender. There was no turning back.

* * *

"Suuuuuki," Sokka droned to his wife, "Why was I so excited about this mission earlier?"

"Because, you are a warrior, and Zuko is your friend. And it's been quite awhile since you kicked some butt." Suki smirked, but didn't even look at her melodramatic husband.

"But who knows how long it could last? And if we're all together in a group. . . that means. . . no alone times with my snuggle koala-bunny."

"Oh be quiet." She said, "Do you have all your things together?"

"Almost. . ." He murmured, looking for his sword. Suki sighed, and pointed at the sword sitting directly behind him. He smiled a bit embarressed and grabbed it. "Ready."

"Then let's go. We should stop by Katara's room, and Zuko's too since they didn't here where we were supposed to meet to leave." Sokka opened the door and held it open for Suki. Once through, she grabbed his hand and they continued walking.

* * *

Zuko pulled away from Mai, breathing heavily. Wrapped inside his arms, she kissed him again, trying to get another taste of him before he left on the mission.

She stopped her kissing briefly to speak, "I'm going to miss you, Zuko."

"Me too." Zuko agreed before pressing his lips against Mai's once more. Parting, he stood up and retrieved his bag.

"I still don't get why I can't come too. You always leave me behind." Mai pouted. Zuko winced.

"I told you, I don't want you to get hurt, or kidnapped. Your engaged to me, the Fire Lord. . . those rebels would snatch you up right away if they had the chance. You'd be the perfect hostage."

"I'd be able to fend for myself. I'm not weak, Zuko. The Avatar's girl is coming along, isn't she? She's also the one who took down Azula. If anyone would be in danger it would be her."

"They're too damn afraid of Aang to do that. I'm just the measly Fire Lord, and he's the Avatar."

"Zuko, come on. Let me come in place of her." Mai pleaded.

"Mai–" Zuko started, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Hey Zuko!" Oh, it was Sokka, Zuko realized. "Are you ready yet? We need to leave!"

"Yeah, I'm ready. I'll be right there." Zuko called, while fixing his clothing. He want over to the door and opened it.

"Zuko!" Mai called.

"Bye, Mai." He said, looking back at his fiancé before shutting the door. He sighed.

"Lady troubles?" Sokka questioned? Zuko glared at him, and then noticed his other company. Suki and. . . Katara. She wasn't looking at him. He couldn't tell if he was glad or upset about it.

"Let's go." Zuko mumbled, waiting for Sokka to show the way.

* * *

**A/N: I decided I was taking too dang long on this update, so I split chapter 3 into two parts. Sorry. The next part of Chapter 3 should come eventually, along with my promised introduction of Toph. **

**Reviews, Faves, and alerts are awesome. I love you people for being so dang patient.  
**


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